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Vallee's ruling relied in part on a case in 1917 in which a Canadian commercial fox breeder claimed the value of a pelt from a neighbour who had shot one of his foxes after it had escaped from its pen.

In that case, the Ontario Court of Appeal decided that wild animals are owned only while they are possessed.

Lawyers for the Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary, which took in the monkey after it was seized, successfully argued in this case that the court does not have jurisdiction to determine what is in the best interests of the monkey, but simply who owns it.

During the trial, Nakhuda said she was willing to move out of Toronto, which prohibits owning exotic pets, in order to regain custody of the animal.

Darwin had "bonded" to her, she testified.

In videos posted online, she is seen nurturing the animal, changing its diapers -- "He hated wearing them," according to court documents -- and brushing their teeth together.

But in emails to an animal trainer, she admitted that Darwin -- which she bought from a "shady exotic animal dealer" for Can$5,000 -- would run away when not leashed, and she worried about his biting when his adult teeth would eventually grow in.

In her decision, the judge also said authorities had good reason to detain the monkey to check for "illegally imported monkey diseases."